Sin Kian Heng: Heartlands bak chor mee with special fried fishballs

As someone who loves languages but doesn’t speak Chinese, I use dish names as little language lessons. So, bak chor mee— literally, minced meat noodles— is helpful since it tells me what I am eating. (Meanwhile, something like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is not so helpful)

So, I knew what I was in for when I heard of Sin Kian Heng Bak Chor Mee at 22 Sin Ming Road. In fact, it is right next door to Serangoon BBQ & Curry, which we loved when we visited in April. Would Sin Kian Heng live up to the Sin Ming Road hype?

What I tried at Sin Kian Heng

Deciding to try what several other people seemed to be eating, I ordered a bowl of Minced Meat Noodles (S$4/S$5) in the larger size. There were a couple of people ahead of me in queue and it took about 10 minutes to be served, which was a bit longer than I would have thought. But when my order did come, it announced its arrival with a beautiful aroma.

In my bowl, there were 3 fishballs, 2 medium-sized pieces of fish cake, about 5 slices of mushroom, 5 pieces of sliced pork and quite a large portion of minced pork. Even without the noodles, it looked like a reasonably big portion.

The broth contributed to the aroma, too. It was brimming with minced pork and sliced scallion and I couldn’t help but take a sip even before I tried the noodles. Good choice, because it was rich and flavourful. The bits of pork were soft and absorbed the broth very nicely.

JOFA Grill: Chinese-Western Kopitiam stall with bak chor mee, duck confit & mee pok carbonara

Pulling up a spoonful of noodles, I also got a fishcake and a sliced mushroom. The noodles were springy and cooked just right. I’m not a very big chilli fan so I had asked them to go easy on that ingredient. Still, the little bit that was included had a touch of fire to it. More importantly, it was well-spiced and added to the taste of the dish. I prefer this approach to the ‘just burn your tongue’ one where the chilli distracts from and overwhelms all the other ingredients.

I am sorely tempted to say that the fishballs were the highlight of the bowl. Light and very springy, their browned skin tells you they have been fried. Sin Kian Heng apparently gets its fishballs fresh every day but they are then fried in the stall’s own special oil before making their way into your bowl. This little twist makes such a difference!

My 2 fish cake slices were just nice, nothing special that I can say. However, together with all the other ingredients such as the minced pork and sliced pork, they added to the ‘fullness’ of the meal. I say that because every bite I took right up till the time I finished had a very nice noodle-meat balance. A lot of stalls give you more noodles than necessary and you are expected to ration the other ingredients to keep them going till the end. Not so here, fortunately.

Final thoughts

My visit to Sin Kian Heng was thoroughly enjoyable and I wish I had a bigger tummy so I could try more than just the Minced Meat Noodles.

While I chose the basic Minced Meat Noodles, Sin Kian Heng offers a range of add-ons, too. Watching the crowd, it seems the Braised Trotters (S$2), Braised Intestines (S$2) and Braised Chicken Feet (S$2) are the most popular add-ons.

The bestseller among the full bowls is Braised Pork Trotter (S$6), but you can also ask for Meatball Soup (S$6). Based on how good the fishballs were, I will definitely try the Meatball Soup the next time I am here.

All the braised items on the menu, including the mushrooms are cooked in a huge pot right at the front of the stall. I loved watching the full pot steaming away as the broth simmered inside, and all the add-ons as well as bones for flavour jockeying for place at the top. The scent of spices and cooked meat added to the experience.

Expected damage: S$5 – S$12 per pax

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